Neuqua’s Schmitt has day to remember

Every girls soccer player should be able to score the game-winning goal on her 16th birthday.

Olivia Schmitt actually did it.

The Neuqua Valley sophomore converted her shot in the 68th minute of Tuesday’s match against archrival Waubonsie Valley, giving the host Wildcats a 1-0 victory in Naperville.

“It’s a great feeling to come out there and working really hard and just finish it off finally,” Schmitt said of her third goal of the season. “It started off with Katie (Ciesiulka). She did a great job taking it to the middle. ... I just tapped it in. Great job by my teammates.”

It was also a great job by the Neuqua Valley defense to hold a powerful team like Waubonsie Valley scoreless, even after losing junior right back Hope D’Addario to a knee injury in the first minute.

“The defenders did a great job staying organized and talking in the back,” Schmitt said. “We’ve been working on that in practice.”

“Dannah (Williams), who’s been starting for us as a center back, played on the outside. She did a very solid job for us back there,” Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said of the freshman defender. “Hope will be evaluated tomorrow and we’ll see how it is. We’re not quite sure. It could be a wide range of things.”

The Waubonsie Valley defense was solid most of the game also, keeping the dangerous Goralski underwraps, with junior Rachelle Armand leading the way.

“I play on the same team with her and that definitely helps that I know how she plays,” Armand said. “I definitely think had our chances and it was a close game, but we should have finished more shots. We’ll just have to have more heart and more energy next game.”

Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Courtney Keefer made 6 saves for the shutout, the same number of saves Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Emma Rigby made.

Neuqua Valley moved to 5-1-1 on the season, 1-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division. Waubonsie Valley is 4-2-1, 1-1.